*deep breath*
This was the cake that changed our lives.
Doesn't look like much, does it?
It's a delicious honey cake from a dear friend's mum's recipe, and when it won my then team's charity bake off, I realised how much I wanted to learn about making cakes.
That was December 2015 - I was out of a job by May 2016, nursing our 3 month old daughter, preparing our 2 year old for nursery, and wondering how we'd stay afloat. The supportive, pragmatic, glorious best friend I'm married to insisted that I follow my passion, despite the financial risks and discomfort. That's why this time last year, I was halfway through the 8 week Ultimate Baking Course at The Cookery School at Little Portland Street, led by the brilliant Ghalid Assyb. I'd never made meringue, macarons or buttercream, layered a cake, or used a piping bag. Since then I've made beautiful wedding cakes, developed my own range of macs and designed and delivered more custom bakes than I knew my brain could handle. I soft launched this very site recently and while I also work part-time in another fulfilling job, this baking thing is now a serious business. Who'd have thunk? Not me.
What a difference a year can make, am I right? Good to stop and take stock sometimes. Special thanks to my first customers Dina Vekaria & Hayley Wilson; the many, many other supportive women who helped me pick my confidence up off the floor; and my family, for everything.
PS
While I've been sworn to secrecy on the recipe for this exact honey cake, this apple-based recipe from Tori Avey sounds absolutely delicious...honey cake is usually made in celebration of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year), which is generally sometime in September - you're in the right month to give it a whirl!